Chapter 8: The Final Battle - Part Two

"... you may ask me only one question." The thorns all retract into the earth and the darkness surrounding her grows. She looks at me with hatred, and seems very willing to strike me down on the spot. My weapon suddenly begins to vibrate and I feel it slipping away. Suddenly all our weapons sail into the air and surround Maleficent, their glowing white light flickering out. "Your weapons won't be needed." The sword, morning star and my spear all revert back to their non-magical state. I feel devastated at this, totally not seeing the flaw in my plan. Now with all our weapons in the hands of the evil fairy, I fear there will be no way to defend ourselves any longer. But will we even need them? I did say I would walk away and never return ... though I can't say the same for Spatterson and Phillip.

"How did you do that?" Spatterson asks as she rides up to the fairy. "Merryweather said these weapons would work against dark magic!"

"Your weapons are in the hands of inexperienced fools," Maleficent says, glaring at Spatterson. "These weapons are powerful, but if the users feel even the slightest weakness during battle, the weapons will succumb to a greater power."

"So you just turned off our weapons just like that?" Spatterson asks.

Maleficent ignores her. "Now, Ben. We had a deal. You will ask me one question, and then turn around and never come back. You'll allow me to fulfill my plans, and you'll be free to abandon your comrades. Should you return, I can promise you a very long and painful death. I'm no stranger to curses you know."

I think about the prospect of abandoning Spatterson and Phillip. I can't leave these two to battle Maleficent alone. We've been through so much and we had some good times. Running away from the dark fairy when she wanted to kill us, running away from her when she wanted to kill us, running away... nope not all good times I guess. But it would be dishonourable to fulfill my end of the bargain. But I still have to think of a question. What should it be? Was anyone ever kind to her? What were her parents like? How did she get her powers? Why doesn't she have wings if she's a fairy? That would be interesting to know. But it could lead to a simple answer like "I was born without wings." Man I don't know what to ask her! One question.

"Do you have your question ready, Ben?" asks Maleficent. "My patience is growing thin."

"Actually I do!" I say enthusiastically. I look over her elegant dress, the sleeves long and rippled and the train flowing eerily in the non-existent wind. It's neat that the interior of the dress is a violet while the outside is black. I'm suddenly very curious about her choice to wear such a gown. Why black and purple? Why did she design it that way? I clear my throat. "Might I compliment you on your fashion choices, Maleficent? The black and purple really complements your eye shadow and light green complexion. What inspired you to create such a work of art?"

She smiles slightly and begins a low chuckle. She then starts cackling loudly. I wonder what's so funny. Surely my question wasn't such a bad one?

"Oh, Ben!" she begins, calming down. "You are an even bigger fool than Spatterson! Of all the questions you could have asked, you ask about my fashion choices! Tell me, what do you hope to gain by knowing why I choose to wear a certain dress, hmm? Do you think you'll suddenly get me? That you'll suddenly go out and buy this dress for your lover? NO! I tell you. This dress was custom made by me for the sole purpose of inspiring fear. Notice the ripples along the edges of the fabric. Does it remind you of the way the flames lick the air? This dress reminds everyone of my power and affinity for fire. Fire is actually my element you know – very capable of using it for a variety of purposes. I cook with it, I heat my drafty castle with it... but that's beside the point. My whole outfit is to inspire fear. I chose black for the outside to show people of the evil I harness, and purple is on the interior because inside I like to feel as if I'm royalty. I do live in a castle you know... no surprise there..."

"Do you wear shoes underneath your dress?"

"ONE QUESTION ONLY BEN! I'm not finished with my response yet. This outfit, with its flame-like design, is also symbolic of the fires of Hell! You remember I said that some of my power comes from there? Well, here's that idea manifested as a dress!"

I nod with understanding, wondering when she'll be done with her spiel on her outfit.

"And you may be wondering why I wear this headdress too?"

I shrug, and give a little nod.

"This headdress, with its black horns are symbolic of a cow! Yes, a bull, rather. My father always loved bulls and so I decided to make a headdress that would remind me of the things he loved most! Those lovable bovines that were always so carefree in the country side... eating to survive, and spewing methane..." She rests her head to the side, supposedly thinking deeply about some memories of hers. She snaps out of it and leers at me. "You may go now. Don't make me curse you for lingering."

I nod. "Thank you for your time, Mistress Maleficent. I wish you well as you proceed to destroy your foes." I begin to turn around, looking once more to see the three weapons hovering in the air behind her. I sigh thinking that it will only be Spatterson and Phillip facing her now.

"Ben where are you going?" Spatterson calls after me. "Ben! What about the princess?"

"I'm sorry guys," I say, turning to face them. "I made a deal. I have to leave now or else she'll kill me."

"Ben!" Phillip cries. "You said you would fight alongside us. You promised that we'd fight evil together."

"Sorry, man. It's up to you two now. I have to keep my end of the bargain. I wish you two well though."

I could feel their angry stares behind me as I walk back to my mare. I mount her and begin to trot towards the town. There I would find my multi-dimensional vortex that would transport me back to my world. Another World, Maleficent once thought. Maybe I should have told her about that ... no; couldn't risk letting that kind of evil into my realm. As I plod along I couldn't help feeling like I had just committed some unforgivable betrayal. Guilt welled up inside me knowing that I gave the two of them a false sense of hope that I would battle with them.

"And now, you poor, insolent heroes, I shall destroy you utterly! You are powerless without your weapons!" I hear Maleficent cackle loudly. I stop and turn around. "Keep going you miserable fool!" she commands, firing a bolt of green lightning into the air. "And don't even think about returning! You've already betrayed your friends; a most heinous deed if I do say so myself. No doubt there is little you can do now! Especially once I'm through with them! Hahaha!"

Wow, I really am an asshole. Bad enough that they're going to get killed, but to have to put up with her blabbering ... that's a fate I sure wouldn't wish upon anyone.

I slow down and stop when I'm a good distance away. A blue light zips in front of me and I see that Merryweather has caught up. She enlarges herself to normal and looks into my eyes, fluttering just ahead as I slowly begin sauntering onward. "Where are you going, Ben? The others need you."

"I know. But there's nothing I can do now. We don't even have our weapons ..."

"Your weapons failed you when you felt doubt and fear. They sensed the energy you were giving off and they became useless. You need to have a sense of confidence and belief in yourself! You cannot afford to be cynical and sarcastic all the time ..."

"What – what makes you think I'm those things?"

She smiled. "It's not hard to tell with you, Ben. Plus that was the reason for your weapons' failures. Maleficent was right about that. Deftly done on her part getting you all frustrated with her thorns ..."

"So what now? Do we go back and fight her again?"

"Only when you truly believe that you can succeed ... that you can triumph over evil should you return. Only then will the weapons show their true power. It's not enough for us to have super-charged them. The users need to have the will and the urgency to do good!"

Am I really so negative? Was my lack of belief in myself the reason for our downfall? For not fighting back? If I truly believe that we can triumph, will that be enough?

"I will return to them," I say as I veer my steed around. "If what you say is true, about believing in yourself, then I know we can win."

"Ben," Merryweather says, "Maleficent will strike you down if she sees you. Here, let me help you once more."

She flicks her wand at me and blue sparkles fall, surrounding me. A tingling sensation runs through my whole body, and I'm surprised to see the ground directly below me, even as I'm mounted upon my horse. I raise my hands to my face only to see the vast stretch of land before me. "I'm invisible?"

"Indeed. You can now sneak up on her unawares! This is your one shot, Ben. GO forth and fight!"